


A Christmas Story

by Pikartiste



Series: Modern Times [3]
Category: Ripper Street
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-09 08:32:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14712689
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pikartiste/pseuds/Pikartiste
Summary: This is the Christmas Eve, Edmund and all his relatives are reunited in his house for the celebration, and mainly for the traditional reading time.





	A Christmas Story

**December 24 th 1902**

The snow was falling on Leman Street in hundred flakes on the floor, the pavement turned into a white carpet. It was cold outside, too cold for a walk in the town. The perfect weather for the Christmas Eve.

But inside of all the houses, the warm of the fire of the fireplaces, as well as the cheerfulness of the inhabitants won against Winter.

 

 

Edmund was crouched in front of the fireplace replacing the embers to keep the living-room warm. Then he glanced behind his shoulder: his daughter Matilda was sitting on the sofa looking after her two children who were playing together with Artemis, Edmund’s dog; while Drum was helping the others in the kitchen after the Christmas dinner. The Inspector smiled tenderly at the sweet scene in front of him; he used to be alone the rest of the year, his only companies were his policers teammates and his dog. Matilda lived his own life now with her husband and children, and he cruely missed her. Having her in his house warmed his heart and brought him a kind of happiness he needed.

He came back at his bask when a child’s voice cried out :

“ _Mommy ! He bothers me !”_

It was Lucie who tried to push her little brother away, who wanted to climb in her laps.

“ _Aaaw Sweetheart, Lewis just wants to play with you.”_  Matilda said gently, resting her hand in the palm.

The baby was now trying to grab his big sister’s hair with his pudgy fist covered with cookies crumbs gurgling. Lucie looked at her mother with pleading eyes.  _“But Mommy ! He’s all dirty !”_  then she glanced hostly at her brother :  _“Go ! Leave me alone !”_

“ _Lewis’s still a baby, Lucie”_ Matilda sighed smiling, _“you’ve to learn to be patient with him.”_

“ _Your Mom’s right Pumpkin.”_  Edmund said finishing his bask, then he lifted up to come near the others on the sofa.  _“You know, you were like him when you’d his age. You always wanted to climb in everybody’s laps and you used to snivel when no one paid attention to you.”_  he added chuckling, and gave some pats in Artemis’ flank who’s claiming her master’s caresses.

Lucie blinked at him :  _“No ! Wrong !”_  she cried out, huffing.

Matilda lent towards her daughter and booped her nose :  _“Oh yes little Miss, and believe me that you’re the most adorable little crybaby I could ever know.”_  she said teasing her.

Edmund smirked at the young woman :  _“Lucie took exactly after her Mom after all.”_

Matilda sharply glanced at her father, turning bright crimson.  _“Father !”_  she exclaimed, laughing despite herself.

_“Aaaw c'mon Buttercup ! Your dear old father can tease you sometimes, huh ?”_ Edmund said tickling his daughter and kissing her cheek. Matilda and her children laughed.

 

The big clock rang suddenly :  _21.pm._ Lucie sharply got up, a wide smile in her lips.

“ _It’s reading time ! It’s reading time !”_ She cried up loudly jumping.

Lewis, who didn’t understood his sister’s sudden enthusiasm, was a little frightened and ran up into his grand-father’s legs on all fours.

“ _Well, well, there’s a little girl really excited, isn’t she ?”_  a voice asked amused – Drum’s.

Lucie ran into her father with the same enthusiam :  _“Daddy ! Right in time for the reading.”_  she said importantly.

Drum chuckled.  _“I wouldn’t miss this part of the evening for nothing in the world.”_  he said stroking gently his daughter’s golden hair.  _“But don’t you think it’ll be better if we wait everybody ?”_

Then, Edmund grabbed Lewis in his arms and declared :  _“While waiting for the others coming, I propose Lewis chooses the book because it’s his first Christmas with us.”_  Everybody agreed, so the Inspector moved towards the library in the background of the room, where a lot of books were tidy perfectly on the shelves.  _“Alright little man, which book will we read tonight ?”_  he asked to the baby.

Lewis were amazed by all the colored books, he moved his eyes from left to right but didn’t know where to give head. Suddenly, a book attracted his attention : a faded pink torned big book, put in a corner of the library.  _“Bah !”_  he cooed showing the book with his small finger.

Edmund grabbed the dusty book, then glanced at his grandson smiling genuinely.  _“Excellent choice.”_  he whispered to him.

The cover of the book was faded of his original color but we could still the title :  _“A Christmas Carol”_  by Charles Dickens. The Inspector watched it not without some emotions. It was Matilda’s favorite book when she was still a child. He knew the story by heart because he had to read it each years at this time. He felt his heart tighted with emotions.

Edmund came back near the sofa where Matilda was always sitting.  _“Your son has good tastes for reading.”_  he said showing the book to his daughter. The young woman gasped grabbing it delicately to watch it more carefully.

“  _You … You kept it ?!”_  she asked amazed, her eyes couldn’t leave the cover.

“ _Why ? What did you think ?”_  Edmund asked sitting down next to her, Lewis on his laps.  _“I would never get rid of a book, even less this one, Sweetie.”_

Matildastroked the cover by the end of her fingers feeling the emotion in her heart. Drum leant to see the book better.  _“It’s incredible you still have this kind of book at home. I heard it was one of the first edition, isn’t it ?”_  he said elbowing in the edge of the sofa.

Edmund glanced at his son-in-law smiling :  _“Well I bought this book when Matilda was only two, few days before Christmas. Since this year, she never wanted to read another book that this one. I don’t know why.”_  he said chuckling.

Drum chuckled too :  _“Well, I’m pretty sure the story of Ebenezer Scrooge touched her from the bottom of her little heart.”_  he said teasing his wife, then giving a quick kiss in her lips. Matilda stuck out her tongue at him.  _“If only you understood the morality of the story, you thought exactly like me.”_  she said teasing her husband at her turn.

The young man shamed to pout :  _“Excuse me my dear wife, but I know the story !”_  he said pretending indignation.  _“It’s just … I never read the book.”_  he finally admitted sighing.

Matilda snickered :  _“So tonight, you’ll get the chance to hear it.”_

Edmund looked at the pair teasing each other. He smirked, finding them adorable. He knew perfectly that his Matilda always won the argues against Drum, which satisfied the proud father. Finally, all the family members arrived in the living-room taking sits; Drum sat down in a chair, Lucie was confortably installed in her mother’s laps while Lewis was still on his grand-father’s. Artemis, as for her, lied down next to Matilda panting. The fire crackled ardently in the fireplace. Everybody was ready for the reading time, so Edmund opened solemnly the book and began to read :

“ _Marley was dead: to begin with. There is no doubt whatever about that. The register of his burial was signed by the clergyman, the clerk, the undertaker, and the chief mourner. Scrooge signed it. And Scrooge’s name was good upon ‘Change, for anything he chose to put his hand to._ _[…]”_


End file.
